My name is Leila; I am a 44-year-old female. I don’t drink, don’t smoke, eat healthily, love spin classes, swimming, and dancing. In November 2024, I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.

I was enjoying time with my fiancé and planning a wedding when it all started. My heart started feeling tight in my chest, and it hurt to eat. I’d had reflux before- around 10 years prior, but this was different. It started being painful to swallow food down, and I would cough sporadically too- with no other signs of a cold. I thought it was my diet, cut down on high fat foods, spicy foods, dairy, meat, tough foods- you name it, I’d probably already cut it out. Each reduction helped at first, but then the heartburn and cough would start all over again.

I went to the doctor who gave me medications for heartburn and reflux, and eventually nausea when that started. I had to keep missing work, I tried Chinese medicine, a herbalist, nothing worked. I knew there was something wrong- but I never thought of oesophageal cancer!

My doctor referred me for an endoscopy. I lay down, the surgeon went silent, there was an atmosphere in the room. When they told me I had oesophageal cancer, all I could think of was the way it would affect the wedding, shock turning my emotions off, until I heard ‘chemotherapy,’ then my world turned upside down.

We went away like zombies. I returned to work, trying to live my life as before, but everything and nothing had changed. I felt like I was in a bubble, peoples muted conversations floating round me. I sporadically broke down in tears, in the supermarket, at the pool, in the garden pegging out clothes. I felt so alone and wanted to scream often.

They did more scans and said it hadn’t spread.

I started choking on food and had to stop eating, at the hospital they fitted a nasal feeding tube. It was a big shock, and we were scared, but finally after months of pain eating, I was so grateful for the nutrition. No one likes using a feeding tube, but to this day, I know that tube saved my life.

Soon after, I started chemotherapy. It was hard, but I was glad to make a start at fighting this cancer. I was nauseous, I lost all my hair, including eyebrows and lashes. At times I felt desperate and scared it wouldn’t work. But my family, friends and husband got me through. I never lost hope.

After my chemotherapy, I got bad gut issues and was so worried about our wedding! But the team got the meds right just in time, my nasal tube removed, and I was able to eat enough to enjoy it. It was a miracle. My family and friends helped, and we had a beautiful day in my mums garden, I wore a fantastic real-hair wig, got eyelash extensions and a dress with a long train. After the darkness, I felt like a princess! We honeymooned in Northern New Zealand, and 4 days after our return, I was taken in for surgery.

The surgery was laparoscopic, so it had less impact, but it took 17-hours! A tricky one as it was so close to my heart and lungs. I recovered well, but the neck incision got infected, so I endured three more surgeries, many different techniques including vacuum dressing before it healed 5.5 months after surgery.

My feeding tube (inserted during the operation) is out, I am eating soft foods and back to my physical job as a university librarian. I started moving as soon as I could, even trying to walk with all my tubes and chest box in after surgery! It was slow at first, a few steps up from the house and I needed to rest. But I built strength gradually, my scars are healing, and I am now swimming, doing gym classes and dancing.

Sometimes it was so hard, but I never gave up. My mum made big copies of our wedding photos and posted them on my hospital wall after surgery. Getting married in the middle of cancer was such an achievement and took a lot of courage- and craziness! That made me feel strong enough to fight this thing.

My demographic, as a young female with no other health issues made me a very unlikely candidate for this cancer. But I am proof it happens- and I have lived through this, because I didn’t stop pushing to get the tests I needed.

I am just so happy to be alive today because I know many don’t have that privilege. That my surgeon was so diligent, a hard worker and always held hope for my survival. I live each day with gratitude and hope. My body will be different forever inside, but I can eat, sleep, dream and be in the world. I am alive and breathing, a survivor of oesophageal cancer.